The Beetle
by Have you ever shut up
Summary: All James has to worry about is starting middle school, but that all changed when his best friend's life suddenly ends and starts again. His best friend has changed since her death and new beginning. She is different.


"Are you nervous?" James asked even though he knew the answer. He asked only because he was the nervous one.

"What do I have to be nervous about? It's just school." Paisley said as she gently poked a gold beetle with her finger.

"It may just be school, but it also opens a whole new world to us. New people _and_ a new school. It's a lot to take in." James stared at the gold beetle and was slightly disturbed when Paisley picked it up and started to pet it.

James and Paisley were sitting on a rock in the middle of their neighborhood park. It was a warm calm day with only a few kids on the swings and on the slides. The park was very old; James remembered some of the stories his mom had told him when she was a kid and she played in this park. "Nothing has changed." He remembered her saying to him when he was only seven.

Paisley thought for a second," Yeah, I guess it could be a little frightening, but I'm always up for a challenge." Paisley gently sat the beetle on a blade of grass and watched as it crawled away. "Are you nervous, James?"

"Yes. I am extremely nervous." James looked down at his hands as he fiddled with a rock, "For all we know, we could be the next walking target for all bullies!"

She then realized how frightened James was. "Bullies? Please, if any one tries to pick on you then I'll set them straight. They have no business messing with my best friend. ", Paisley declared, very proud and confident that no one would mess with them.

James looked up from the rock and gave Paisley a very hopeful look. _Maybe everything will be okay in school. Paisley is right, it's just middle school, _James thought to himself. James knew that he could always count on Paisley to lighten the mood or make his worries go away. She was his best friend since . . . ever. They grew up together as neighbors and as family friends.

"Let's not talk about school. How 'bout we find pictures in the clouds like we used to." Paisley said as she repositioned herself from the rock they were sitting on and to the ground. The grass was thick and a beautiful shade of green.

"Well, I guess I can let loose for a while." James too placed himself on the soft grass, lying next to Paisley. James thought for a second, trying to decide whether that cloud was a monkey holding a rhino or just a simple bunny rabbit. _It's a bunny_, he decided.

"I see a clown with a huge nose", Paisley whispered, "What do you see?"

"I see a bunny"

Paisley thought for a second, "It could be a bunny, or it could a distorted monkey". Paisley waited a second then looked over at James and they both started laughing.

"JAMES!"

They both looked up towards the calling person and noticed that she was James's mom, "Oops, that's your mom. You'd better go home." Paisley noted, "Want to meet up on the swings at seven tomorrow morning?"

"Sure thing. See you then." He looked back at Paisley and made a triangle with his hands; she did the same back.

The walk home wasn't very far .In fact; James could usually see the park from his bedroom window. As James walked, he thought of that beetle that Paisley had in her hand. It was a strange beetle. It was a gold beetle, and, although James knows that there are gold beetles, this particular gold beetle looked like gold. The beetle looked as if you could pick it up and sell it for the price of _real_ gold.

James opened the door to his house and was greeted with the smell of his favorite pizza: Canadian bacon and pineapple. He sat down at the kitchen table next to his older sister Taylor.

"Hey James, I haven't seen you all day." Taylor has brown hair that touches her shoulders. Her dark green eyes match her brothers.

"Yeah, I've been at the park most of the day." James loved Taylor. She was always nice to him, and she has always cared for him, too.

"I'm guessing you were at the park with Paisley, right?"

James nodded as he chewed on his pizza.

"Can you take the pizza box out to the green monster, please?" Taylor asked James. Taylor didn't like anything dirty and always asked James to take out the trash.

"Yeah, I don't mind." James replied. After he finished his wonderful pizza, James went into the kitchen to get the pizza box. When he got outside he saw Paisley walking home. James made that same triangle with his hands as he did earlier today, and Paisley replied with the same triangle. When they were younger and in daycare together, they would make that triangle from across the room to say "Hi" or "Bye". James walked to the side of the house and placed the pizza box in the green monster.

He walked to his room and got ready for bed. He was tired, but at least he wasn't as nervous as before. He silently thanked Paisley and slipped into his bed.

The next morning at six Paisley made her way to the park. It was a breezy day and the sun was just arriving. The park was empty with only the sound of some morning birds and the peaceful music of crickets. Paisley jumped on the swing and swayed back and forth, letting the gentle breeze blow through her beautiful blond curly hair. She loved the feeling of the wind in her hair. It made her feel more connected to this extraordinary planet.

As Paisley got higher and higher the old swing set creaked more and more. Today Paisley went higher than she has ever gone before on the swings and she loved it. The wind felt good in her hair, and she was having so much fun. It was too bad that James wasn't here yet.

Paisley believed that everything had an ending and that everything will end up in its right place at the end. It just so happens that the swing set, as old as it is, has an ending and will end up where it belongs. As Paisley continued to swing higher and higher, the swing's chains finally reached their limit and they snapped.

Paisley had no idea what had happened. One minute she was in the air having a blast and then the next she was flying through the air with her arms and legs flailing. Not a single thought went through Paisley's mind. She landed a pretty good distance away from the swings, hitting the rock they were sitting on yesterday. The horrible sound of her neck breaking echoed through the neighborhood. Everything was silent. Not a single bird chirped. Every cricket stopped. The park that was cheerful and welcoming just a few seconds ago was now eerie and silent.


End file.
